Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories

Book Info
ebook, 114 pages
Expected publication: June 1st 2014 by Escape Publishing
ISBN 139780857991645
edition language English
URL
other editions None found
Source:Netgalley EARC

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

She can buy anything she wants…except the courage to stand up to her family. That’s where he comes in.

Jessica Trove is a billionaire Cinderella, bullied by her family, and terrified of the responsibilities crashing down on her shoulders. She knows what she needs to do — she just needs to find the courage to do it.

That’s where Brodie Carlton comes in. Jessica is used to buying anything she wants, and what she wants right now is a hero. She’s going to make Brodie Carlton an offer he can’t refuse: be her emotional bodyguard, and she’ll make him rich. The only question is who will guard their hearts.

My Thoughts

They say write what you know, Australian author Jenny Schwartz knows her sites as evidenced with the glorious descriptions of Jardin Bay and Sydney. It has been a lifelong dream to go visit parts of Australia, cannot tell you how many times have read a book featuring places in it or watched movies with scenes set in the outback while imagining myself there!

Hero Duty came to me via publisher from Netgalley and it was such a great joy when approval was granted for me to read the book having enjoyed previous works by Jenny.

Jessica Trove is not your normal damsel in distress, she is not lacking in funds nor is she running from an abusive ex. However Jessica is someone who hates confrontations, someone whose family knows just what buttons to use to guilt her into doing things that are not in her best interest and in light of that she goes in search of Brodie Carlton after his admirable defense of a friend at the expense of his own military career.

Jessica wants Brodie to be a buffer, someone who can keep her on course with the path that she has chosen to take control of her life now that her father is dead and her stepbrother and stepmother are working together to try and convince Jessica the only solution to keeping the family business Numbat strong is to allow Derek her stepbrother to gain control of both the business and the family fortune.

Brodie is a hard sell at first but than he agrees to the terms she has set forth and travels with Jessica to Sydney for the meeting with the estate lawyers and her family members. While it is true at first he was not sure that he could actually provide Jessica with the help she requested he quickly changed his mind when she demonstrated just how vulnerable to being browbeaten she really is.

Things progress over the course of the story, Jessica finds the inner strength that she has previously lacked with support from Brodie and in the process also finds that he is truly one person who understands her without judgement. I would go so far as to say that he proves to be one in a million as we learn more and more about the characters innate kindness as well as his common sense that lets him provide Jessica with support without taking over for her when she falters.

This is a wonderful look into bits and pieces of two beautiful areas of Australia, both Jardin Bay and Sydney have lovely scenic views and also scrumptious sounding venues for dining that are showcased quite nicely a few times as backdrops for Brodie and Jessica’s scenes together.

The romance of the main characters is sweet, sexy and very well developed as is the fact that by the end Jessica Trove has finally opened herself up to what she wants in her future. A future that most definitely includes “hero” Brodie Carlton!

[EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]